GE's pharmacy system goes federal

GE Healthcare has been selected by the U.S. Government's Tricare Management Activity to supply a pharmacy information system for the Department of Defense (DOD) healthcare facilities.

GE's Centricity Pharmacy Information Systems - which has already begun delivery to the Tricare Management Activity - is well suited for large, multi-site healthcare organizations, including hospitals, clinics, and theatres of operation, GE said. With more than 800 facilities worldwide, and 536 dispensing pharmacies managing 93 million prescriptions a year, the Tricare Management Activity manages care for the U.S. military and its retirees in numerous locations.

The Centricity Pharmacy system manages all pharmacy and drug-related information pertaining to an individual hospital patient or multitudes of patients across a large network of hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities. It also provides information tools for pharmacy managers and pharmacists to efficiently distribute medications as prescribed by healthcare professionals, and monitor the use of drugs across the organization, helping to prevent allergic reactions and medication interaction, GE said.

The full offering includes software and various professional services, including consulting, training, project management, and ongoing software support. The agreement will proceed on a project-by-project basis, with the potential for a 10-year duration and more than $80 million, GE said. The Centricity Pharmacy system could potentially be rolled out globally for DOD use.